BEST CAR WASH (2002)

The outside of your car is a giant salt lick. The inside features root beer that exploded from a frozen bottle in February and Chalupa wrappers that have been under the backseat since December. One April day you notice a row of cars glistening at the edge of T & Y's parking lot on the north side of the Warehouse District. You could go for the cheap exterior wash for $8.79, but you know it's time to lay down two more bucks for the full-service treatment, which includes an interior cleaning. (And boy, do they clean the interior. Goodbye Chalupa grease, hello new-car smell!) "Three inches of snow every two weeks, 30 degrees and sunshine the rest of the time," says owner Del Triesch, when asked to describe the perfect car-wash weather. (He sees about 6,000 vehicles a month in the winter.) The 62-year-old Triesch, who runs the service station with his wife and two sons, has been in business for 34 years. In that time he's seen a lot of advancements in car-wash technology, but he knows the bottom line is elbow grease from his crew of 16. "I stay on the employees and say it's up to them to give customers the best wash they can get," he says proudly. "With that, I'll be here forever."